Sinia
Sinia is a tiny fief in the south of Trillian, owned by the House of Baines. The land is primarily a collection of small shepherding villages, and is absolutely wracked by poverty due to a long history of poor management and exploitation from the House of Baines. Geography Sinia is located just to the south of the Adirnys mountains and north of the Lirannis river. Both the river and mountains were formely part of Sinia itself, but the rights to the land have been sold to other fiefs in the recent past. What remains of Sinia consists mainly of downland- that is to say, calcareous grassland suitable primarily for livestock grazing. Sinia is characterized by its rolling hills and valleys, which usually contain clay soil and deposits. History Sinia and the House of Baines are actually among the oldest fiefdoms in Trillian, although much of its former glory has faded. King Osbert Baines, retroactively known as Lord Osbert, was the third ruler to join in King Richard Cooper I's crusade to unite Trillian. Although not heavily active in the battlefront, the rural citizens of Sinia participated by providing King Cooper's armies with plenty of food and other supplies. For the next five hundred or so years Sinia was peaceful, occasionally even prosperous. Having not much of any interest besides sheep, Sinia mostly stayed uninvolved with the troubles of Trillian. Unfortunately, the House of Baines grew complacent with their trouble free life. Lord Leonard Baines II, perhaps bored of managing flocks of sheep day after day, was something of a hedonist. He was fond of hosting lavish parties, amassing exquisite and expensive artworks, gambling away exorbitant amounts of money, spoiling multiple mistresses, and drinking until he puked into the rosebushes. Lord Leonard's habits spread to his children, and in order to fund their excessive lifestyles they milked Sinia for all it was worth. As a result, over the next few generations the citizens of Sinia were soon overtaxed to the point of abject poverty and two-thirds of the original land was auctioned off to neighboring fiefs. Things further worsened when a major sickness swept the fief and killed many of the citizens, as well as several of the remaing members of the House of Baines. The current ruler of Sinia is now Lord Grayson Baines, who has been making efforts to restore Sinia to prosperity, with limited success. Demographics Sinia's population is predominantly human, with a small population of elves and earth elementals. There previously was a sizable air elemental family, but they have been all but wiped out. Roughly fifty-two percent of the population live on private farms and estates. Thirty-eight percent live in one of Sinia's two primary villages, either Auvona or Linaldra. Five percent of the population is considered legally homeless. Economy Sinia's primary exports are sheep, mutton, wool, lanolin, leather, sheep cheese and sheep milk. Lumber, metals, and various grain products are often imported. Due to a lack of monetary circulation and overgrazing brought on by an increasing shrinkage of available grazing space, Sinia is going through something of an economic crash. Category:Locations